


The Line

by gaymusicians (benjaminschiffplatt)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, One-Shot, Up all night to get Bucky, so angsty, sort of, well i like it anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 03:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4004644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjaminschiffplatt/pseuds/gaymusicians
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is desperate, and Bucky is too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Line

Rain is pounding hard against the glass of the window, and the rest of the Tower for that matter, but Steve doesn't notice. He only thinks about Bucky. He thinks about how his old friend- no, not friend, something more- is faring. He can't be handling the rattling thunder and flashing lightning well, not so soon after the fall of Hydra.  
Steve sighs and turns away from the large window of Avengers Tower, rubbing a hand over his tired face in defeat as he recalls the latest dead end in his and Sam's mission to find Bucky, to save him from himself.  
With one last sparing glance behind him towards the cold glass window and the colder world past it, Steve turns the light off and leaves the room in the total silence of the dark night.

The rings around Bucky's eyes don't go away. He's slept fine, compared to what he's used to, for hours at a time on benches and under bridges, and he eats relatively often, again, compared to what he's used to. He isn't hungry or tired, but the dark circle indicate otherwise.  
Maybe it's the stress of not knowing who he is. Maybe it's the days spent wandering the Captain America exhibit, maybe it's the days spent sitting across the street from Avengers Tower, looking up at the tall glass that separates him from his past.  
Maybe it's neither.  
Maybe it's both .

Steve's knuckles are bloody as he clenches his fists tight, nails digging into his palms as he demands to go again.  
Natasha gives him a worried look but obliges, allowing him to resume their heated sparring match.  
He's been distracting himself from the lack of a trail in search of his past friend slash love with training, and lots of it. Even Tony has noticed the exhaustion that rolls off of the blond in what seems to be waves, but Steve shrugs off his colleagues' worries with a dim smile and another cup of coffee.

Blood clouds Bucky's vision as he takes another punch, so he closes his eyes. It's not like he can't fight back, but he'd rather not see what he can do with his arm and a lack of self control.  
The woman he prevented from being mugged is nowhere to be seen as he takes yet another fist to the face. He hears a crunch and assumes that his nose is no longer in the same place, but doesn't feel anything. In fact, the mugger's entire presence seems to have disappeared, resulting in a curious Bucky opening his eyes before shutting them tight at the sight of a lean redheaded woman standing before him, having knocked out his aggressor. He knows who she is, but as she helps him up and leads him to Avengers Tower in silence, Bucky can't help but be nervous for what comes next.

Natasha practically screams in relief as she and Bucky approach the Tower in her slim black car. The man beside her sits as tense as a coiled spring, aching to jet from her, away from Steve and confrontation, but he knows as well as she does that a conversion is to be had, no matter how unpleasant. She offers a soft look towards the bewildered and anxious man before leading him inside and up many staircases. Bucky is grateful for this, using the extra time it takes to climb the steps to think about the coming words to be shared with Steve. He still hasn't quite figured out how close the pair of them had been, and that worries him.

Natasha leaves him with a wish of good luck in front of Steve's door. The long haired man tentatively raises a hand to the door and takes a deep, shaky breath before letting his knuckles softly hit the wood thrice. He counts the seconds between his fist colliding with the door and the creak of the hinges indicating Steve's awareness to his presence. One, two, three, four.... And all of a sudden Bucky is staring into the deep blue eyes of a man he once knew.

Steve is frozen in shock. The very man he has spent so many weeks and even more tears on is standing in the doorway of his bedroom almost seventy years after the beginning of everything and Steve can't even find it in himself to say a word, let alone do anything to make the poor, uncomfortable man feel welcome. After any moments of shuffling about, Bucky takes a step backwards and moves to walk away, down the hall, but Steve takes this as his cue to get a grip and return to reality. He steps forward and wraps his arms around Bucky in a tight grip and sobs into his shoulder, letting all demons go and allowing himself to feel for his friend.

Bucky doesn't know what to do. One moment he feels unwelcome and is turning to leave, the next he's wrapped up in the warm and inviting arms of a man he used to know. It isn't as though he doesn't like the open, kind feeling of Steve's muscular arms keeping him in place, he just isn't used to such care, or any emotions at all to tell the truth. He stands awkwardly as Steve's tears wet the shoulder of his dark hoodie and tentatively raises his arm- the one of flesh and none- and wraps it encouragingly around the blond man's shoulders.

After many tender moments of this, Steve seems to realize what he's doing and pulls away, releasing Bucky from his grip before offering an apologetic smile and an apology, which Bucky immediately rebuffs.  
He may not remember much, but he knows deep in his heart that Steve is a weakness to him that will never have to apologize, will never mess up so badly that he should feel the need to earn forgiveness. As he stutters out this explanation to Steve, the so-called Captain smiles widely and dives in for another hug, a less desperate and more cheerful hug which draws out a small smile from the dark haired man.

As Steve draws back from the quiet embrace, he looks into Bucky's eyes and makes a silent promise to bring the light back to them and Bucky vows to remember the man who put it there in the first place. In that moment, they know there's a dark and winding road for both of them, with ups and downs and twists and turns, but they also know that everything and everyone will be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank u for reading my stucky OTP trash.  
> Was it trash? Probs, yeah.  
> Should I stop writing in present tense? Probs, yeah.  
> ~s


End file.
